The Arabist

A message from the ADL

The Anti-Defamation League has done us the enormous favor of identifying effective organizations calling for a just peace in the Middle East. Please donate generously to the following 10 groups:

ADL IDENTIFIES TOP 10 ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS IN AMERICA

New York, NY, October 14, 2010 … They organize mass demonstrations featuring extreme anti-Israel and anti-Zionist messages. They seek to undermine the Jewish state by spreading malicious propaganda. They pursue boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel.

They are the 10 most influential and active anti-Israel groups in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

“While there are hundreds of groups that organize and participate in various anti-Israel activities, we have identified the largest and most well-coordinated anti-Israel groups,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “These groups are not promoting peace, they are spreading propaganda to assault Israel’s legitimacy. We want to Americans to know who these groups are and what it is they really stand for, which is to delegitimize the Jewish state.”

In a new online report, ADL takes a close look at the top 10 anti-Israel groups operating in the U.S. The League examines the dynamics of the U.S. anti-Israel movement and the ability of the most prominent groups to organize events, attract supporters and forge relationships with other like-minded organizations.

The Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups, as identified by ADL, are:

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER)

Al-Awda

Council on American-Islamic Relations

Friends of Sabeel-North America

If Americans Knew

International Solidarity Movement

Jewish Voice for Peace

Muslim American Society

Students for Justice in Palestine

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Update: A friend writes in:

From the perspective of someone "on the ground" in the Palestine movement in the US, so to speak, I'd caution against taking the ADL's list too seriously. While its true that groups like JVP are doing enormous work, the U.S. Campaign, for example, is basically a nonfunctional front group at this point. The inclusion of CAIR only makes sense in terms of ADL's Islamophobia, since as far as I know they do no actual Palestine work. SJP is not actually a single organization, of course, but simply the "brand name" of most university Palestine groups. If Americans Knew is not an organization, as far as I know, but simply the website of Allison Weir, who did some good work 10 years ago but is certainly not a key organizer these days. Just saying-- its about as accurate as your average white orientalists view of Islamist groups or something.

Update 2: Also read this very good piece by Michelle Goldberg in the Daily Beast.